Armored Trooper Votoms: The Grey Witch reveals cast for two new anime films
Mamoru Oshii directs two new Armored Trooper Votoms films, with Miyuki Sawashiro and Mabuki Andou joining the cast.
The Armored Trooper Votoms franchise is returning with two new anime films, and the first cast and staff details have now been revealed. Sōkō Kihei Votoms Haiiro no Hexe, also known as Armored Trooper Votoms: The Grey Witch, is being produced by Sunrise and Production I.G.
Mamoru Oshii is directing both films, while Ryōsuke Takahashi — director and creator of the original 1983 Armored Trooper Votoms concept — is supervising. Miyuki Sawashiro voices Ash Vamps, a notorious AT pilot known as the Grey Witch, and Mabuki Andou voices Maki Stauffenberg, an officer secretly investigating Ash’s past.
A new war story in a battered universe
Shinobu Tsuneki and Armored Trooper Votoms: AT Stories manga artist Yoshiro Sōno are designing the mechanical units. Kenji Kawai, who has collaborated with Oshii on projects including Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor 2: The Movie, is composing the music.
The official announcement also revealed character designs and a 30-second trailer. It describes the project as two films, but the announcement does not yet give a theatrical release date, runtime, international distributor or streaming platform.
The original 1983 series is a landmark of “real robot” mecha: its Vertical One-man Tank for Offense & Maneuvers machines are mass-produced military hardware, powerful but vulnerable, with thin armour and grim casualty rates. The story follows Chirico Cuvie, a soldier caught in a conspiracy after a century-long war between the Gilgamesh Confederation and the Balarant Union.
The new films appear to be using that same grounded military identity rather than turning the franchise into a parade of invincible super-robots. The official website has confirmed the production and main creative team; overseas release plans remain unconfirmed.
Our opinion
A Mamoru Oshii-directed return to Votoms is the sort of announcement that makes old-school mecha fans sit up straighter. The Grey Witch already has a wonderfully severe premise — a feared pilot and an officer digging into her past — and Kawai’s return to the creative orbit is a tasty bonus. Two films also give the team room to tell a focused war story, provided the machines stay as vulnerable and mean-looking as the franchise demands.
Sources: official The Grey Witch website (https://www.votoms-gh.com/news/detail.php?id=24615); Anime News Network (https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-09-04/new-votoms-anime-films-reveal-cast/.241379); Comic Natalie (https://natalie.mu/comic/news/688091).